SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Rockstar Husqvarna’s Colton Haaker earned his fourth AMA EnduroCross championship with a third-place finish at the final round of the series at Glen Helen Raceway on Tuesday.
Cody Webb finished the series in second place, eight points back riding the FactoryOne Sherco. FMF KTM’s Trystan Hart was just one point behind Webb in the final standings.
As for the final race of the season, it was Hart that took the overall win for the day with 1-2-1 results. It was his second win of the season. Webb finished second overall with 2-1-2 finishes and Haaker rounded out the overall podium with 3-3-3 results.
For the second race in a row, Haaker set the fastest hot lap time to earn the first gate pick for the first of the three motos. Hart was a close second and Webb a close third.
Noah Kepple set the fourth-fastest time on a Husqvarna and Cooper Abbott was fifth fastest on his RPM KTM.
Hart earned another Fox Holeshot in moto one with Haaker, Abbott, Gerston and Webb in hot pursuit. Webb eventually worked his way up to second and kept Hart honest but had to settle for the runner up spot.
Haaker rode conservatively, just needing a sixth overall for the day to lock up the title. Beta’s Max Gerston battled with Abbott for much of the moto and eventually took fourth with Abbott fifth.
In the second moto, which inverts the moto one results for gate picks, Spenser Wilton took the holeshot on his KTM and led the riders through the first lap. Webb was the first of the top riders to work through the pack and he took over the lead at the end of lap two.
Haaker and Hart both had problems on the first lap putting them at the back of the pack. Webb opened a small gap and Hart passed Haaker as they eventually worked their way up to second and third position and they finished in that order.
Gerston finished fourth and Kepple rounded out the top five.
Hart and Webb were tied going into the final moto and it was Hart that again took the Fox holeshot. Haaker was second entering the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC rock garden but Webb shot past and into second.
Haaker turned up the pressure and made a pass on Webb and held the position for a couple of laps before Webb could work his way back into second.
Webb made a big push to close the gap on Hart and was able to make a last-lap pass attempt when Hart got stuck on the IRC tire climb. Webb fell off the bike in the final corner but recovered for second in the moto and overall.
Haaker rode another conservative race to finish third in the moto and overall for the day. That was plenty to earn him the 2020 championship.
Gerston had to fight hard to get sixth in the final moto to hang onto fourth overall for the day. Kepple had his best moto of the season to finish fourth and earn fifth overall for the day.
Haaker was happy to earn his fourth GEICO AMA EnduroCross championship.
“Tonight, I was pushing as hard as I felt like I needed to on an oversaturated track,” said Haaker. “It was really wet in the first moto so I took it easy and let the race come to me and finished third. I ultimately finished third in each moto but each race I got more comfortable with being in the position I was in. You just had to be smart out there.
“This year was really tough for me, I had a bulged disc in my back at round two and since then, I’ve been fighting it really hard but I’m happy to come away with my fourth title.”
Webb finished the season in second in his first season on the FactoryOne Sherco.
“That final moto was a little was a little finicky and I didn’t totally trust Haaker in the beginning,” admitted Webb. “I think I rode a little too soft in the beginning because I didn’t want to risk second in the championship. Then I charged and reeled Trystan in and he made a mistake at the end so I threw a Hail Mary at the finish there to try to make a pass.
“We had a good season and the Sherco factory was able to send over some maps and settings to help improve the bike. The tougher tracks these last few races also helped me be more competitive,” Webb added. “Ultimately, it was a good year and I feel that we can improve from here.”
Hart took his second win of the season to end strong despite having 10 stitches in his throttle hand from a round four crash.
“I don’t really care about the overall win today … unless you’re number one, it doesn’t even matter. All I care about is getting that number one. So the most important thing for me is that I am there with Colton and Cody and can compete for that number one plate,” said Hart. “I have the speed so now I just need to be more consistent.”